Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

I felt this book to my bones. It took me a day or two longer than I normally would reading a book of this size but that is because I devoured and let every single word that Jessica Joyce wrote, deep into my heart and mind.

She writes in a way that I FEEL and describes the small minute details in the everlasting way that I experience them. From small glances to knees accidentally touching that puts butterflies in your stomach. From reliving memories and noting pain in movements that are only known by someone who knows another character so well they notice the nuances. She hit me from every single direction and I just felt filled.

Eli Mora. WOW. I won’t ever forget Eli. I don’t want to spoil anything and a more in depth review post will come closer to pub day, but hear me now. PRE. ORDER. THIS. BOOK. This publishes on July 16, 2024.

I can’t wait to get my physical copy so I can transfer over my 100 highlights 😭😭😭😭

wow… this book was absolutely amazing and absolutely heartbreaking. My heart was so heavy reading it and it just hurt to read because it was so beautifully heartbreaking. Second chance romance is not one of my fav tropes and there’s only 2 other books with this trope that I LOVE but now I can confidently say that I love 3 books with this trope because this book broke me and healed my heart at the same time and I’m so thankful I got to read it. I know I’ll be thinking about it forever

Out July 16, 2024 [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC!]

Rating: 5/5 stars

Georgia and Eli were best friends, then lovers, then nothing at all. When they reunite as “best people” to save their mutual best friend’s wedding, they just might have the second chance they’d never admit they always wanted…

This book is cataclysmically beautiful and I am undone. I absolutely adored everything about this book, which is sweet and sexy and warm and caring and gut-wrenching in all of the best ways. In particular, I related to Georgia on a molecular level, and so many scenes absolutely flattened me—there are few books out there that make me feel seen in quite the way this one did.

Jessica Joyce is without doubt one of the best romance authors in the game right now—this book is not even OUT yet and I already can’t wait for whatever’s coming next. In short, a piece of my heart will stay in the Napa Valley with these characters forever. I truly cannot WAIT for everyone to have this book in July!

CW: Anxiety/panic attacks; abandonment

This is the my second time reading a novel by Jessica Joyce and it was great. I really enjoyed "You with a View' and so I had high hopes for "The Ex Vows" and it didn't disappoint. Joyce has a way of bringing you right into the story and does a great job with showing instead of telling. The main characters were relatable and I appreciated the honest depiction of dealing with anxiety and mental health struggles. Overall, the story was charming and entertaining and I'm looking forward to her work in the future.

Infinite stars ⭐️

A new favorite romance book. Jessica has a way with words and truly makes such beautiful & impactful love stories. I love her ability to include depth into her books and this one definitely had the emotional impact that left me feeling everything!

The Ex Vows was one of my most anticipated reads after Jessica released her debut, You, with a view, last year. The Ex Vows is a masterpiece, to say it lightly. This book gripped me from the very beginning and left me feeling like someone squeezed my heart and then gave it a hug. This is second chance romance at its absolute BEST! Georgia and Eli have a history that jumps off the pages and makes you feel like you’ve been witnessing their love alongside them.

The story was unique, as the two are working to remedy their childhood bestfriends wedding together. I loved how she seamlessly included bits & pieces of their past, making you yearn for their endgame even more! I was able to connect with Georgia and Eli in many ways, both are strong & complex characters whose own issues are being healed. This book is VERY pro therapy and it was wonderful to witness, as both characters go to therapy to heal after trauma.

Georgia’s character was immediately very hard hitting for me, Jessica did a phenomenal job with how she portrayed someone with childhood trauma that impacts her every day life. I love how this book takes two people who are so wholeheartedly right for each other but needed to grow a bit in order to make it work again. Chapter 34-35 I was sobbing the whole time, at two am😭!!

I highly recommend this book to everyone, it’s a romance book that has the undertones of how scary change & growing up is. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It will never leave my head. Especially the paper rings and little details, my gosh💞😭 Also, the spice… was SO GOOD, it was intimate and included the perfect amount.

Oh Jessica Joyce how I love you. I completely fell in love with You, With A View and didn't think I could love a story more but this one topped it. I really do not have a bad thing to say about this one.

This book, man this book. I don't wanna speak in hyperbole and be rash, but my goodness this book may be one of my favorite books of all time. The emotions I felt while reading this book cover the full spectrum, I mean I had a physical reactions to the angst and pining in this book. It made my heart hurt and brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions. To be fair second chance and pining is my personal kryptonite and to add fuel to the fire Jessica Joyce posted that the heroine's song from the playlist would be Mirrorball by Taylor Swift which is just a dagger to my heart. If you read one book this year let it be this one and while I know Emily Henry has become the main comparison as everyone is trying to capitalize on her success I actually think this is the most comparable in terms of quality writing and romance.

Another wonderful Jessica Joyce novel that is filled with so much heart and angst! I love it when a story can balance both of those things well! Eli and Georgia's chemistry was amazing!!! It was so passionate and witty ahhh i lovee! Such a good book!

What to expect in The Ex Vows:
-childhood friends to lovers
-second chance romance
-found family
-angsty 😭
-🌶🌶
-single POV

Georgia and Eli have known for a good part of their lives - having met when they were fifteen. Their relationship took its own course from friends to lovers when they both decided to move to NYC from the Bay Area. And then...the one thing that Georgia feared happened - their relationship fell apart and she lost one of her best friends. It's been five years, but Georgia and Eli are always cordial to each other whenever they interact with their other mutual best friend Adam. With Adam's wedding looming in the very near distance, Georgia isn't prepared to be spending so much time with Eli. Except the wedding is literally falling apart and Georgia and Eli vow to work together to make it the most perfect wedding for Adam. Now that they are spending more and more time with each other will their feeling towards one another change with old wounds resurfacing?

Second chance romance is a favorite trope of mine. I want to feel the angst and pain of their past relationship and find out why didn't it work - what happened to make their relationship fall apart. Eli and Georgia have so much great chemistry and their old hurts were so obviously there. Not gonna lie - I was totally crying into my pillow for a good chunk of this book. But Eli - gah - Eli was so perfect. I loved him for Georgia and the way he just knew her. And Georgia - I felt her pain. The way she always wanted to please everyone and be "on." Even the fallout between her and Eli had me wanting to give her a big hug.

I loved Jessica's first book You With a View and was eagerly awaiting The Ex Vows. Her writing is witty, fun and has a lot of big feelings! I look forward to reading whatever she writes next!

Overall, I would give The Ex Vows 4.5 stars, but rounding up!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley/Berkley Romance for the ARC!

The Ex Vows was perfect, nothing should’ve been different, I loved every bit of it!

The MCs were presh, the side characters were all hilarious and played their roles perfectly, the settings were brought to life, the tension and angst were so thick I thought I’d faint. THE STEAM. My goodness 🥵 Eli and Georgia had chemistry that just flew off the page, even when they didn’t have scenes together. I felt like I was watching a movie in my imagination and now I’m dying for this to be a real movie. I laughed, I swooned, I cried. Everything about it was just incredible! 💕

Also, I am frothing at the mouth for Cole to have a book so that needs to be a thing 😍😍😍

the easiest 5 stars ever. I had high expectations after absolutely loving You, With a View and the sweetest novella A Risk Worth Taking and it exceeded my expectations.

This book manifested the second chance trope as my favourite trope ever. There is something special about the tension of two people that have history. They know each other so intimately yet are scared to give into those feelings and ravel in the smallest touch or laugh they can get. It makes me feral!!!!

This book managed to portray the realness of growing apart due to life and its challenges in adulthood. I felt so seen in this book through the characters but also through the story and its deeper message. Not only is it hard to grow together in a romantic relationship but you also grow apart from your friends and the life as you knew it. Soon everyone finds their person and starts a life of their own. As a girl in her late twenties, such as Georgia, the fmc, it is hard to come to terms with that and this book portrayed this fear so accurately and real, it made me cry many times. I loved the depth of both characters and related to Georgias need for people pleasing and Eli's anxiety over his future.

The past relationship of Eli and Georgia was given to us in bits and pieces yet it all flowed so well, showing us the good sides, how it all started with their love heart glasses on, but also the hardships, that life changes and you have to adapt and grow not only by yourself but also with another person and that is sometimes hard, especially at a young age. Jessica Joyce, however, managed to tell a story filled with tension and emotion, it had me at the edge of my seat.

The whole plot of them trying to save their best friends wedding and going on these little missions and errands was so good and entertaining yet also painful with the unresolved issues hanging above them. I adored the setting and "the curse" was a fun little twist that added lightness to the story.

This book also dives deep into the mental health aspect and communication in a relationship which I appreciated. The rawness of especially Eli's character was a breath of fresh air. It has done the most perfect job to show us the hurts both went through and the bad decisions on both parts but also included a redemption arc that makes you love them instantly and understand both of their actions.

Overall this book is emotional, with amazing banter and chemistry, important mental representation and a message many can relate to in their 20s. Jessica Joyce has manifested herself as a favourite author of mine and I will read anything she writes!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC!!

Jessica Joyce writes the sweetest love stories with just the right amount of spice. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors.

This is a second-chance romance about former flames reuniting for the wedding of their mutual best friend. I could not put it down and was rooting for Georgia and Eli the whole time!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

oh wow. i'm not even sure where to begin on this one. i am such an emotional wreck right now. tears are pouring down as i write this review oh dear lord.

second chance is a trope that can either be done very well, or falls the mark. and this is one that exceeds every expectation and more. jessica puts so much care into telling eli and georgia's story.

going into this book, it was not what i expected. i didn't expect to be crying every chapter and just be so intrigued and curious. the emotions that this book evoked out of me was insanity in all honesty. georgia will do everything to please people and never share her burdens. and eli's trauma is so deep rooted that anxiety takes over all. eli and georgia were messy, deep, emotional, yet beautiful. their love for eachother was so undeniable.

in every page, it made me feel. i felt all the emotions these characters were going through. i was happy, scared, confused, sad, and so on. eli and georgia's story was absolutely heartbreaking but also beautiful and real. it showed the deep ugly moments in life and the struggles of navigating relationships through mental health and self discovery struggles. this is something that i don't think many authors do, so it was refreshing to read about this. i also think shedding light on the importance of therapy was something that was talked about and done extremely well.

and can we talk about the paper rings!!!!!!!!! i started wailing like a baby i was such an emotional wreck after that. dear lord i have seen what you have done for others.

with this all being said, this was my first and definitely not my last jessica joyce book! this was truly everything i needed in my life. the way she was able to portray these characters and their hardships with anxiety and abandonment was amazing. i truly just can't even begin to explain how much i loved this book.

thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. i am so grateful <3 everyone PLEASEEEE add this to your tbr and purchase when it comes out. you won't regret it.

Rating: 4.5/5
Steam: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cheers to the paper rings and the beautiful words JJ gave us in the Ex Vows.

Okay, I absolutely loved The Ex Vows. I actually was crying by the end of this book because it was so heartfelt and lovely.

I loved that even though this was single POV I felt like I knew Eli. I loved how much they knew each other, and supported each other even when it was hard. They balanced each other out. This book was so unbelievably horny. Yeah, I said that. Jessica wrote tension, and pining SO WELL. My god I was just waiting for them to do it. They were so emotionally connected with each other even when they weren't using their words, that it added a layer of depth.

While the overall book was fantastic, the initial 40% posed a challenge. Had it not been for a recommendation, I might have missed out on the brilliance that unfolded later in the story.

Here's what didn't work for me: Mostly Adam. The drama surrounding Adam and his wedding, with everything seemingly going wrong, became somewhat overwhelming and, at times, frustrating. Adam's lack of responsibility for his own wedding and the subsequent guilt-tripping of his friends added a layer of complexity that, for me, bordered on annoyance. Because Georgia was a massive people pleaser, she bent over backward to anything and everything in the vein of 'my best friend won't love me if I don't do this.' That aspect took off points for me.

All this to say, damn, I adored Georgia and Eli. They were so perfect for each other; this quote is perfect.

“I was wrong when I said before that we’re only good at loving each other when it’s easy. I think we’re good at loving each other out loud when it is, but we’ve silently loved each other through all of the hard stuff.”

A delightful, second chance romance with found family! Jessica Joyce is quickly becoming a favorite romance author - I really enjoyed this story, especially because of the tension and rapport between Eli and Georgia. I liked how they didn’t seem to be super mad at each other because of their past breakup; they were more insecure of themselves and working to heal and grow. Eli was willing to have the hard conversations and challenge Georgia to open up. The love confession and resolution was so sweet and personal to them!! I absolutely loved seeing their happily ever after.

I wish that the sense of setting was more prominent and developed. I would have liked to see more of the winery instead of just the cottage since it was such an important place to them growing up.

I will say one more thing and that is: PAPER RINGS!!!!! Georgia’s discovery absolutely ruined my life in the best way.

Thank you Berkley Romance for the advanced copy.

The Ex Vows is the perfect second-chance romance. I loved the characters and concept more than I thought possible, and Joyce handled the ways they fell apart and came back together with so much heart, warmth, love, and sensitivity. Watching the characters grow into versions of themselves that could build something stable and solid together made me cry happy tears, and the grand romantic gesture—and epilogue?!?!—were so earned, and some of the best I've read. A new favorite.

An absolute 5 star! I laugh, cried, and did everything in between.

Second chance romance, isn’t my absolute favorite trope in the world, but this was executed perfectly. We got to see every bit of their relationship, and I love Eli and Georgia more for it. I was sobbing at some points because I could feel their pain and sorrows. Eli and Georgia are soulmates and you can never convince me of anything different. Jessica executed the mental health aspect in such a real and raw way.

I loved this book so much, and I hope everyone picks this one up!

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

i am so happy to say that this is a 7 star read for me 🫠 😭 i cried (too much), i laughed, i smiled, and everything else in between.

second chance romances have to work really hard to please me (i’m not talking about you, happy place). i normally don’t love the notion of exes getting back together (i mean, there’s a reason they broke up, right?), but this book executed this trope perfectly and completely erased by doubts. we got to see the beautiful beginning of their relationship to the rocky downfall, and all of it made me love them even more. every feeling eli and georgia felt, i felt tenfold. i mean, when i tell you i was sobbing, i was SOBBING. eli and georgia are soulmates to the umpteenth degree and you can never convince me otherwise.

the reason eli and georgia broke up when they were 23 was so real and although a lot could have been solved through communication, that’s not always possible. i felt their pain, their longing, and their love for each other in a way that felt like my own feelings.

georgia is the people pleaser, libra woman of my dreams. being a people pleaser, libra woman myself, i felt deeply (and scarily) connected to georgia and her extensive lists. eli is the anxious workaholic who just wants to take care of those he loves. we all know and love a man like eli, who we just want to hug and remind him that everything will be okay. these characters are vulnerable (when they want to be which is so relatable), raw, and real. it takes a lot for me to get so attached to characters, but i want to hold eli and georgia in my back pocket for the rest of my life.

i also want to applaud jessica on the way she wrote eli’s anxiety and mental health struggles. it can be so difficult to accurately portray how anxiety feels, much less how anxiety can feel for men. it was so gutwrenching to see his panic attacks, but seeing georgia help him through them made my heart heal itself.

a short list of things i loved (extremely shortened list because i could go on and on)
- the tension-filled errands
- PAPER RINGS
- the pacing
- mental health representation
- how t-swift coded this is (labyrinth x maroon)
- the banter

thank you x10000 to berkley and netgalley for the arc. this is a new all time favorite book. jessica joyce supremacy!

don’t know where to start with this and I’ve been thinking on it for 24 hours. You, With a View is one of my favorite books in the world so I expected a lot from this and somehow it exceeded my expectations.

This book felt so real. I felt like I was reading about real people with real problems. The fmc, Georgia, was so relatable with her people pleaser tendencies and her fears about the future. Eli is a therapy positive mmc who acknowledges his wrongs and has worked so hard to be better. I fell in love with both of them. The side characters are also excellent and contribute a lot to their story. I loved them all.

This is a second chance romance, one of my favorite tropes ever, and it was done perfectly. I don’t have a single complaint. Their reason for splitting up felt so authentic. Right person, wrong time in life and they both knew that. There are a few scenes / thoughts from the past that really helped me understand why they fell apart. Their character growth and reunion felt real and like they were ready for each other. Sometimes second chance reasons for breaking up are silly or don’t make sense, but this felt like a real life situation.

I loved the wedding plot with Georgia and Eli having to put aside their feelings to work together to save their mutual best friend’s wedding. Even just the character growth through that was excellent.

All in all, this book was everything I hoped for and more. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot, everything about it. Please add this to your tbr!!

Jessica Joyce is a magician when it comes to writing books that just squeeze your soul right out of your body and this one is no different. The Ex Vows is a masterpiece of a 2nd chance romance, capturing so diligently and authentically what it’s like to love someone in your youth, to lose them in the complications of adulthood, and to wonder what could have been (even though you know you shouldn’t). It’s a love letter to who we once were, who we often become in spite of what we want, and who we might still be if we do the work to disassemble what we’ve built and re-build it better.

Eli and Georgia are imperfect people who love each other imperfectly but wholly, and this story weaves us through their journey of coming to the realization that that is enough. Coupled with a beautiful setting, well-formed side characters, and the right mix of humor, heat, and nostalgia, this book a shoe-in for a top 2024 read.

Somehow, Jessica always manages to capture the feelings that we’ve all had, the desires we’ve all kept hidden behind our ribs, the ways we’ve all felt like not enough and too much, and the fear that we might get left behind when the people we love chart new paths for their lives. She makes a reader feel fully seen. This isn’t a book, or an author, that you’ll want to miss!